Modern Buddy

Seems like last time I bought one they were tons of cheap options.

Looking for some myself. The price for these things has gone stupid. The last time I bought some it was around $24 (shipped) for 4.

A website called "BeReelOutdoors.com" has them for $5.89 each plus tax plus $7.99 shipping. If I order 5 it works out to $7.94 each including tax and shipping (total is $39.72). Problem is, I've never heard of this place so I don't know how reliable they are.

BTW, the filter part number is Hiflo HF197. This has the hex on the top and not the slot. Fits all Genuine scooters and Vespa's.

Cycle Gear used to sell the HiFlo's for a great price but went over to K&N's at 3x the cost.

$6.22 on Amazon Prime if you look at the “used� option (ie, returned or packaging opened). $8.60 otherwise for one. Is that so bad?

tenders wrote:$6.22 on Amazon Prime if you look at the “used� option (ie, returned or packaging opened). $8.60 otherwise for one. Is that so bad?

It is if you're used to paying $6-7 for a car oil filter, which is two or three times bigger. On top of that, cars don't have to have their oil changed as often. Usually 3-4 thousand miles, sometimes longer.

Regardless of size, I doubt anybody's making any money shipping filters around for less than $10 apiece. Maybe they're cheaper in stores where they hope to sell you other stuff while you're in there...but I wouldn't know, I've never been in one.

$5.89 each. Free shipping if you buy $75 worth: https://bereeloutdoors.com/hiflofiltro- ... GQQAvD_BwE

Used up my last oil filter on my Buddy so I took a chance and ordered 6 HF197 oil filters from BeReelOutdoors. Decided to do so because they sent me a 10% off offer via email. We'll see how this goes.

Babblefish: Would you let us know if the BeReelOutdoors filters are a reasonable price and if they are good quality? thanks

ucandoit wrote:Babblefish: Would you let us know if the BeReelOutdoors filters are a reasonable price and if they are good quality? thanks

The price is good if you buy 4 or more (to make up for the shipping cost) and they're suppose to be made by HiFlo. Unfortunately I haven't received mine yet because they're backordered.

Received my HF197 oil filters from BeReelOutdoors. They appear to be genuine HiFlo filters as far as I can tell. Came out to US$7.05 each including sales tax and shipping when I bought six. I change oil filters after every other oil change so I guess this will last me a little while.

I also bought six filters this morning. In addition to my two Vespas and two Buddies, I also change the oil and filter on my sister-in-law's Vespa. These six filters won't last me long.

I noted they now have 44 filters in stock.

Do Buddies and Vespas use the exact same filters? Interesting.

My Scarabeo 500 and Vespa 150 use different filters, even though Piaggio made them both, and my Buddy 50 of course doesn’t use one at all. Stockpiling six filters to save $8 seemed like extreme economy, but if they apply to multiple common models it makes sense.

Yup, same filter for both.

I know it seems silly to go through all this trouble in order to save $8-9 but when one's monthly income is less than most peoples weekly income, one must be frugal wherever possible. The local scooter dealers around here charge anywhere from $10 to $20 each for an HF197 oil filter so it's worth my while to shop around online.

tenders wrote: Stockpiling six filters to save $8 seemed like extreme economy, but if they apply to multiple common models it makes sense.

At ~$7 a filter the savings are move like $18 or more since these filters are usually $10 or more when you buy them one at a time.

If you ride a lot it's nice to have extra maintenance parts sitting on the shelf ready to go. I like having oil filters, spark plugs, spark plug caps, tires, rollers, and a belt sitting ready to go. Saving money on those parts is just a bonus.

Got my six filters in the mail today. Now the real fun begins!

Read this post a while back and it piqued my interest. I have had filters for my Buddy that were both slotted and with a "nut" on the end.

Seller websites often show the same filter being used on the Buddy and on Vespa, but the HiFlo website shows different filters for each.

I emailed HiFlow and asked if the filters were the same, but only having the slot or "nut" as the difference - and curious as to any spring settings inside, or folds in the filter, etc as differentiating them.

The reply from HiFlo: "The two filters are very similar but not identical.
We know of many people using them interchangably but to be safe and maintain our warranty, you shoudl follow our listings."

Soooo....not sure which model (Buddy-#197, Vespa-#183) has the slot/nut but I guess it doesn't make much difference. edit-I see from the pics above the #197 has the nut.

I think the last time I got filters they were Piaggio labeled and had the nut.

Hiflo lists the HF183 for use with Piaggio, Vespa, Malaguti, Peugeot, basically, most of the Italian scooters. Many websites show the HF197 can also be used in place of the HF183.

They show that the PGO scooters use the HF197 filter, but the confusing thing about this is (and I could be wrong here) many Genuine scooters came from the factory with HF183 installed.

So far, I haven't heard of anyone having any problems using either one in their Genuine scooters.

BTW, some Polaris ATV's specify a HF197 filter for their engines. I imagine it'll be their smaller ATV's.

I changed the oil and filters on both my Buddies and Vespas this week. I used these Hi Flo filters with no issues. The only difference between these filters and the Piaggio filters is the nut on the end of the Hi Flo filter is smaller at 17mm and the sealing gasket is flat not rounded. I’ll keep using them, especially at this price.

If you're looking to stock up on filters, here they are for $6.51 each, shipping included if you buy 10. Free shipping over $50, no sales tax. Came to $65.11 for 10 filters. Use the 10% off code shown: https://lionparts.com/products/set-of-5 ... f97f&_ss=r